So Far, So Good For Arena Football

New League Draws Surprisingly Well In Openers At Horizon, Pittsburgh

Al Peterson tried to imagine walking up to the ticket booth and asking for the best seat in the house in order to watch his favorite football team.

``You`d say, `I`d like seats on the 25-yard line, please.` Now that sounds really weird,`` said the fan from Crystal Lake.

It sure does sound weird, but that`s exactly what nearly 300 fans did at the Rosemont Horizon Saturday night after getting their first glimpse of Arena Football, the latest offseason alternative for both the serious football junkie and the curiosity-seeker.

A crowd of 10,103 showed up at the Horizon to watch the Chicago Bruisers bow 52-44 in overtime to the Denver Dynamite in Arena Football`s debut in Chicago. One night earlier, more than 12,000 had turned out in Pittsburgh for the league`s inaugural game between the Gladiators and the Washington Commandos.

The Arena field is little more than a carpeted hockey rink, 50 yards long and 85 feet wide. End zones are 8 feet deep.

Spectators at Saturday`s opener saw a product that, despite preseason hoots of skepticism, has a chance to score with an audience.

Abandoned professional teams and leagues over the last 15 years litter the sports trash heap. Even some that continue can only hope for a 10,000 single-game draw.

For instance, the Chicago Sting drew crowds in excess of 10,000 only three times at the Horizon during the recently completed Major Indoor Soccer League season. A crowd of 12,892 did pay to see the Sting play an exhibition game against a Soviet all-star team in February. But Saturday, the curious walked in to see Arena Football, and three hours later, a lot of fans walked out.

``I expect that what indoor soccer did for outdoor soccer, this game will do for football,`` said Larry Hanson, a fan who paid $55 for a VIP season ticket before this preview season began. ``It`s going to make it faster, there`s going to be a lot of scoring. It might make it fun.``

``We`ve got a good concept here,`` said Jim Foster, Arena`s founder and president, who spent Sunday in his Northbrook office, taking phone calls from media members and fans alike.

Many callers Sunday had watched Saturday`s game on ESPN. ``We have to do a good job of making sure we do the job getting the game across,`` said Foster.

``We have lots of people who are hard workers and who aren`t in it for the money. We`ve got no big salaries and no big egos involved.``

The 900 best seats in the Horizon, priced at $15 each, are sold out for the Bruisers` final two home games. Chicago plays host to Pittsburgh Friday and to Washington July 10. ``We found that the fans really enjoyed being able to sit so close to the field,`` said Foster. ``The farthest seats in an indoor arena are closer to the field than the nearest seats at most outdoor stadiums.``

Bruisers running back/linebacker William Stone could hear the crowd. The 24-year-old Californian earned his $500 by playing every down, then spent Sunday nursing more bumps and bruises than he could count. Each of the 64 players in the league receives $500 per game.

``I had a good time, but it`s a very physically demanding game,`` said Stone, who, like most league members, hasn`t played both ways since high school. ``The crowd was very supportive. They seemed to enjoy the game, and I think they had a good time.``

Despite Arena`s surprising initial success, Foster, a former executive with the ill-fated United States Football League, realizes that a treacherous path lies between the opening kickoff and long-term success.

``People were telling me last night, `You don`t seem as enthusiastic as you ought to be,` `` Foster said. ``Well, I`m a businessman. These things have to build, it`s not going to happen overnight.``